LA Auto Show Delivers Fuel Efficiency and Raw Power

One in 10 new cars sold in the United States is registered in California.

That’s quite the statistic and justifies the importance of the Los Angeles Auto Show to automakers. With the unveilings officially under way in Southern California, it’s time to take a look at the most exciting, potentially game-changing vehicles that have debuted so far.

The show this year is an interesting representation of the different directions the car industry is getting pushed. Cars powered by gasoline, electricity and diesel are represented, along with plenty of raw performance cars that somehow manage to take decent fuel economy into account while shredding tires and blistering the pavement.

The 2014 Mazda6 sedan will show up in January in North America with a 2.2-liter clean-diesel engine on the option sheet. No fuel economy or performance numbers have been released yet, but expect greatness.

It seems like the 500 was made to be an electric city car. Now that the gas-powered car is finding its niche in the U.S., an electric version will come next. Power will come from a 111-horsepower electric-drive motor with 147 pound-feet of torque, using a battery rated at 24kWh. Range is estimated at somewhere at or above 80 miles.

Audi diesels

The Audi A6, A7, A8 and Q5 will be offered with Audi’s 3.0-liter TDI engine, offering 240 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. In the A8, fuel economy is pegged at 24 mpg city/36 highway. Not bad for the big sedan! Deliveries will begin this Spring.

There’s no stopping Jaguar now. If the word “ferocious” could perfectly describe a car, this is the one. Jaguar’s 5.0-liter supercharged V8 is good for 550 hp and 502 lb-ft of torque. An 8-speed transmission gets it from 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds, all without being penalized by a gas-guzzler tax. Awesome! The bad news? Only 100 will be offered for sale in the U.S.